You’ve probably already gobbled up all of your Thanksgiving leftovers by now. But on the odd chance that you have a few left and are sick of turkey sandwiches, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite ways to squeeze one or two more delicious (and ridiculously easy) meals out of all that hard labor you did last week.

We call it Thanksgiving Pot Pie, and it couldn’t be easier…or trashier. As if most Thanksgiving casserole side dishes aren’t trashy enough, let’s mix ’em together and bake ’em in a pie! Yeee-haw!

This is one of those simple things I assume everyone knows how to do, but when I told my Mom about it on the phone the other day she acted like I had just invented the world’s first combination blood sugar monitor & chip-clip. She then encouraged me to put the recipe on my blog because she didn’t think she’d remember the steps. (Bless her heart.)

So this one’s for you Mom.

Here’s what you do:

1.) Chop up some leftover turkey into bite sized pieces and throw it in a big bowl.

2.) Add spoonfuls of all your leftover casseroles (except the mashed potatoes…that’s for the topping), and gentlyfold it all together. I used leftover green bean casserole, sausage & mushroom stuffing, and sweet potatoes this year (along with the chopped up turkey).

3.) Spoon it all into a pie shell (I used frozen, but whatevs).

4.) Top the pie with your leftover mashed potatoes.

5.) Cover with foil and bake in the oven at 375° (or so) for about 35 minutes (or so), then take off the foil so the edges of the crust can brown up and the mashed potatoes can get a little golden brown (about 10-15 minutes more). You want this baby to be piping hot.

If you have any leftover gravy, warm that up on the stove and spoon it over each piece of pot pie as you serve it.

We had this last night with leftover cranberry jelly, corn casserole, and gravy. I even had enough to make a second pot pie and stick it in my freezer for later. Haters gonna hate.

Note: this meal doesn’t bode well with picky kids who segregate their foods like little side dish supremacists. “RACIST!” I cry. “Let your side dishes mingle!” But Bucket Head won’t hear of it. He said this meal “looks like vomit pie.” The nerve. Someday he’ll come around and then he’ll thank me for exposing him to new things.

Or he’ll get a neck tattoo espousing his deep rooted devotion to casserole purity. And I’ll sit around crying in my ambrosia and wondering what I did wrong to raise such a fucking monster.

And that concludes the Thanksgiving portion of our blogging calendar year. Coming soon: the return of Dobbie, our prize winning Inappropriate Elf on the Shelf!

Yum. I’m all about anything baked in a flaky pie shell and topped with ‘taters. Carbs! Fuck yeah! And don’t sweat Bucket Head– my kids will probably make fake wretching sounds at this concoction, too. They will eat and and like it, or they can suck their thumb. Holy shit- I just channeled my mother. Sorry. *shudder*

Ha! We must be sisters then because I totally subscribe to the “you will eat that or you will starve” parenting style. My husband’s a softie though…he always lets them make a bowl of cereal or a PB&J when Mommy makes “vomit pie.”

Sounds yummy! My favorite way to use up leftovers is Turkey Cranberry salad. Chop up the turkey, dice and toss in leftovers from the veggie tray (this year I used celery, bell pepper, & scallions), add some dried cranberries, poultry seasoning, mayo and mix it all up. Great as sandwiches and on crackers too.

We really are so damn trashy, aren’t we?! My mom used to make a sweet potato casserole that had melted marshmallows on the top of it. True story. Thank you for using the word “genius” about my pot pie. I feel all warm and tingly now. 🙂

Okay, so I tried the Puerto Rican version of this and stuffed most of the same ingredients into dough disks and fired up the deep fryer. Yes, ma’am, turkey-n-trimmins empanadas. With a side of gravy and cranberry relish. I’m sure some ancestor is spinning as we speak.

The easiest things ever, but you have to have a deep fryer. If you fry in a skillet (even a big fried chicken cast iron monstrosity) they will be greasy. Empanada disks can be bought frozen, Goya brand is good, but Rico is better (and cheaper). I prefer the smaller size – because after they are thawed you are going to roll them out slightly with a rolling pin (preferred) or a can of spray cooking oil (in a pinch) – then they are the perfect medium size. Fill them (but, don’t over fill) with whatever you like, but make sure the filling is not wet or runny (i.e. no spaghetti sauce). Wet the rim all the way around with water and then mush the ends together by pressing them down with a fork. Water/Fork Press Thing VERY Important! If you don’t seal the edges, hot oil will seep into the inside of the empanada and that could lead to excruciating pain and disfigurement. Anyway, deep fry at 335-350 ish until golden bubbly (difference in temp depends on if you are starting out with cold insides – cooler temp, or hot filling – hotter temp). If you go 350 with your insides cold, the outside will be ready, but your filling will still be cold. Makes sense, right? Oh, last thing. The “golden” color depends on how clean the oil is in your fryer when you start. I’d say ball park is 3 minutes per side, but make one, let it cool/drain on paper towels for a few minutes, and check it out before you cook them all up. Empanadas are fail proof, if you undercook them in the fryer, stick them in a toaster oven for a few minutes and no one will know the difference. Enjoy!

This looks so yummy! We did not make turkey this year (gasp!). Instead we opted for ham…that I ended up overcooking (hangs head down in shame).

Can’t wait to see your pics of Dobbie! We just added Red to our family for this holiday season. Not sure my 2 year old quite gets the elf on the shelf yet, but it is fun to see the expression on her face every morning when she finds him!